Older residents living near data centers in Pennsylvania would get a break on their property taxes under a legislative proposal that would require developers of the behemoth tech facilities to foot their bills.
The proposal, which is not yet formal legislation, “would require local communities to levy a special assessment against the owner or operator of a data center to pay the property taxes of all residents over the age of 65,” according to a June 24 memo circulated by state Rep. Joshua Kail, a Republican who represents parts of Beaver and Washington counties.
Kail insisted there are only three issues surrounding data centers: Energy demands, placement and agreements between developers and local governments to support an area.
“Everything else is just noise,” Kail said. “Let’s take care of our local communities.”
His effort to regulate data centers in Pennsylvania comes as the state is experiencing an aging trend. The over-65 population is growing faster than any other age group in the commonwealth, according to US Census Bureau data.
Roughly 2.8 million Pennsylvania residents are 65 or older, census data reflects. That represents a nearly 13% increase since the 2020 census was published.
And there are nearly 1.4 million households estimated to be led by people 65 and older, based on information from the nonprofit research organization Urban Institute.
The institute estimated that Pennsylvania’s homeownership rate for 65 and older is around 78%.
How many properties owned by people 65 or older could be affected by data center development is indeterminate.
Some seniors in Pennsylvania qualify for property tax or rent relief that, for eligible people with an income of $48,110 or less, provides a rebate ranging from $380 to $1,000.
The proposal, if passed, would seemingly take some seniors off that program, which is covered by gaming and lottery funds.
AI regulatory suggestions in Pennsylvania
Kail’s memo is the newest to address data centers, which are basically warehouses with supercomputers that fuel the AI, or artificial intelligence, demand.
One aims to define data centers within the state’s Municipalities Planning Code. Another would prohibit them from being built on farms.
One would establish a new office under the governor’s jurisdiction that would dictate how local land use laws can be written around data centers.
One seeks to mandate community benefit agreements between local governments and developers to mitigate impacts of rising electricity prices caused by the behemoth tech facilities.
In his memo, Kail wrote that his legislation would include nothing to stop municipalities from negotiating for additional benefits as part of a local community agreement between developers and local governments.
How much do older Pa. residents pay in property tax?
While there is no state data showing how much of Pennsylvania’s property tax burden is carried by those 65 and older, the retirement-planning website Retirement Living estimates homeowners in the state pay an average property tax of $3,346 on a $265,565 home.
“Reducing the burden of property taxes on our older residents is an issue that we hear about constantly here in Harrisburg,” Kail’s memo reads. “A special assessment like my legislation proposes to pay our seniors’ property taxes, a simple way that a new data center can provide real impact to the communities that they are being built in.”
Kail said his proposal could become an official bill in the next few weeks.
